Barbecue and a Murder

by Kathleen Suzette

  He nodded. “I can’t tell you how much that means to me. Sometimes I feel like I’m disconnected from this town because I’m away traveling on business so much. But it’s nice to know there’s support when I need it.”

  “I want to see Pamela’s killer taken off the street. Mr. North, do you know if Pamela was having trouble with anyone? Did she mention she was scared of someone she knew?”

  He thought about it for a few moments, then shook his head. “No, she never mentioned anything. My daughter was a popular girl. Everyone that knew her loved her. She just had something about her that attracted people to her.”

  I forced myself not to look at Sharon, but I caught an eye-roll out of the corner of my eye. Life had to be miserable with Sharon disliking Edward’s only daughter so much. “It’s a shame it happened to someone that seemed so kind.”

  He looked at me now. “If I had to take a wild guess, I think it may have been someone that saw her as a threat. Someone that was jealous, like another pageant girl,” he said.

  I couldn’t keep my eyes from going to Sharon. She wasn’t a pageant girl anymore, but she was jealous and saw Pamela as a threat. “I hope the police find her killer soon,” I said to Edward.

  “Thank you, I appreciate your concern,” he said.

  I stayed a few minutes longer and finished my coffee, but I didn’t want to overstay my welcome, so I excused myself shortly thereafter. Edward North had no idea who would want to do such a terrible thing to his daughter, and since he had been out of town the night she was killed, he was in the clear. But Sharon North had me concerned.

  Chapter Fourteen

  “So are you going to tell me what you know?” I asked Cade. I hadn’t seen Cade for several days, but I ran into him at the British Tea and Coffee Company. I was about to burst with wanting to tell him what I had found out. “And where have you been? I texted you yesterday, and you never responded to me.” His lack of communication bothered me on a personal level.

  “Hold on now, I did text you back. I told you I was busy and I would get back to you.”

  “But you never got back to me!” I said feeling more than just a little hurt.

  “I’m getting back to you now,” he said with a smirk and took a sip of his iced coffee. “Now, what do you know?”

  “Don’t you smirk at me, Cade Starkey. You should have gotten back to me as soon as you were free,” I pouted.

  “Fine. I’m sorry for not getting back to you earlier. Now, what have you found out?” he asked, sitting back in his chair.

  “You tell me what you know. Getting back to me twenty-four hours later is not the same as getting back to me and there’s no excuse for it.”

  “What do you mean getting back to you twenty-four hours later isn’t getting back to you? I’m getting back to you now. What more do you want?” he said, tilting his head and looking at me. His chocolate brown hair had recently been cut, and it made him look younger than his thirty-five years.

  “It’s rude. When someone texts you, you need to get back to them as soon as you possibly can. Otherwise, people are bound to think you have no respect for them. And honestly, if you have no respect for me, then I can’t imagine why I would have any respect for you. And if that’s the case, don’t expect to know everything that I know. Got it?” I sat back in my chair and stared him down. I might have been blowing this out of proportion, but I couldn’t help myself.

  My mom, Stormy, and Agatha were sitting at a table in the far corner, all eyes glued on us. I did my best not to look over there, but it was hard not to when I caught movement out of the corner of my eye. Mom was leaning in to whisper something to Agatha.

  He chuckled. “You sure are fussy, aren’t you?”

  “Fussy? What are you talking about? And what did you learn?” I took a sip of my Caramel latte, mentally chiding myself for being pouty with him.

  He chuckled again. “You’re something else. Listen, I did ask you to help out, but there are a lot of things I can’t tell you. It would be irresponsible of me. But I do appreciate what you’re doing. People know you and trust you where they’re not quite as open with me. The reason I didn’t get back to you was because by the time I got free, it was late. And this morning I was out early looking at evidence and following up on leads. Now, are you going to tell me what you found out?”

  I considered this. I knew he was a professional, and he had a job to do. Sure, I had hoped he would tell me all the juicy details, but I didn’t expect him to put his job on the line for me. Especially not if it was just to satisfy my curiosity.

  “Okay, between you and me,” I said leaning in and lowering my voice. “I really think Sharon North is our prime suspect. I hate to say it because I really like her. But, she’s both jealous and resentful that her husband spoiled his daughter. And he spoiled her to an extreme, lavishing all kinds of money and gifts on her and Sharon really resented it.”

  He leaned toward me. “From the looks of things, the North’s are quite wealthy. Maybe what you consider an extravagant gift is just an ordinary gift to someone with a lot of money. Is there any other reason to think it was Sharon North?”

  “She has no empathy about Pamela dying the way she did. Normal people aren’t like that and I sure don’t remember her being that kind of person when she worked for my mom. Even if you didn’t know Pamela North, it would be normal to feel badly that she died as horrifically as she did. And even if Sharon couldn’t stand the girl, I would still expect a certain level of sorrow.”

  He nodded. “Normal people would feel badly about what happened. But, I’m finding a lot of people aren’t very normal these days. What else have you got?”

  “Sharon North was a beauty queen herself,” I informed him. “It seems like she’s jealous about how much easier Pamela had it. All she wanted was to get her out of the house, and now she’s out.” I couldn’t help but glance over at where my mother and her crew were sitting. I heard giggles coming from their direction and I rolled my eyes at them and looked back at Cade.

  He glanced over in their direction and then back at me and chuckled. “Friends of yours?”

  “I’ve never met them before in my life,” I said leaning back in my chair. Those three needed to get a life of their own instead of sticking their noses in mine.

  “What else have you got?” he asked, trying to suppress a grin.

  “I’ve talked to Pamela’s boyfriend, Ryan Sparks, her best friend Amber Woods, and Chrissy Jones, her competition in the local and statewide pageants. If Sharon North isn’t the killer, I guess I would have to point a finger at Chrissy Jones. I suspect the pageant world is very cutthroat, and I think these girls would stop at nothing to win.”

  “That may be true,” he said leaning back in his chair again. “But going so far as to murder your competition is a whole ‘nother ballgame. I haven’t spoken to Chrissy myself, so I’ll stop by to see her.”

  “And her boyfriend. Don’t forget to speak to her boyfriend and her best friend. Who else have you spoken to?”

  “I spoke to some of the local pageant organizers, and some of her ex-schoolmates, her father, and stepmother. By the way, I didn’t get the same feeling from Sharon. While she wasn’t crying over Pamela’s death, she didn’t express anything that made me suspicious.”

  “Maybe she was open with me because she knows me,” I pointed out.

  “That’s most likely the case. I’ve already spoken to her boyfriend Ryan, and it does seem that Pamela was driven to win. If I ever have a daughter, I won’t let her anywhere near a pageant. I’m sure there are some pageants that are not as distasteful, but it sounds like the ones around here are pretty cutthroat.”

  “We considered putting my oldest niece into a pageant when she was a toddler, she was the cutest thing you ever saw. She still is. But I’m really glad we never did it,” I said.

  “So, you never did answer me. Do you want to go out and get pizza?”

  I looked at him. It had been weeks since he had asked me out for
pizza and I had put him off. I knew the question was coming again at some point in time, but I still found myself hesitating. I’m sure it was the fact that Craig was in town, but I had made my peace with him hadn’t I? I wished he would leave town and maybe then I would be ready to get on with my life.

  “Yes,” I finally said. “I will go out with you, but just for pizza. This is going to be casual, no strings attached. Understood?”

  He smiled. “Understood.”

  “And, if you ever don’t return my text, or wait days to return it, I’m done.” I narrowed my eyes at him and waited for his response.

  He looked at me. “I can’t tell if you’re serious or not, but I suppose I better treat you like you’re serious. I promise to always get back to you in a timely manner if you promise not to be so impatient. It’s almost as if you miss hearing from me.”

  I rolled my eyes. “You can read whatever you want into it. But it’s disrespectful and if you choose not to get back to me, I’m done with you.”

  I was only half serious about what I was saying. I absolutely did understand that he had a job to do and there might be times that he couldn’t get back to me right away. But when my marriage started falling apart that was exactly what Craig had done to me. He had ignored my texts and phone calls, saying he was busy. I shook myself. It was time to move beyond the past and really and truly let Craig go.

  Cade held up two fingers in a Cub Scouts salute. “I solemnly swear I will never disrespect you by not texting back in a timely manner.”

  “What about fingerprints on the car?” I asked.

  “Pamela’s car had a lot of fingerprints, as expected. And yes, among them were fingerprints belonging to Ryan Sparks, Amber Woods, and her stepmother Sharon North. All were expected since they were close to the victim. But what wasn’t expected, was one set of prints from Chrissy Jones on the roof of the car near the driver’s side door.”

  I sat back in my seat, taking this in. “Doesn’t make sense if the two beauty queens couldn’t stand one another, and from the way everyone talks, they couldn’t.”

  “I’ll have to have a talk with her and see what she has to say about it,” he said.

  “Interesting,” I said.

  I smiled at him and relaxed. Cade Starkey was nothing like Craig Strong. And I refused to allow fear to hold me back from what might be a wonderful relationship. I could hardly wait for pizza.

  Chapter Fifteen

  The more I thought about it, the more I was sure Sharon North was responsible for her stepdaughter’s death. Or at the very least, she knew who was behind it and had a hand in it in some way. Maybe she had hired someone to kill Pamela. After all, she had access to large sums of money. I hated to think things had broken down so badly within the family that she would stoop to such a level, but the fact that Sharon was so intensely jealous of her stepdaughter didn’t sit well with me.

  Still, I hated to jump to conclusions. That was what brought me back to Michelle’s dress shop to have one more conversation with Chrissy. I hoped eliminating her would help me feel more confident as to the identity of the killer. I also hoped to get more information about Amber or Ryan.

  Chrissy was hanging up dresses at the back of the shop and the shop was empty, having just opened. When I walked through the door, she turned and smiled at me. “Oh hello, Rainey. How are you this morning?”

  “I’m great, Chrissy,” I said. “I saw some cute tops the other day when I was in here with Natalie and I thought I’d stop back in to take a closer look at them.”

  “We got a new shipment in yesterday afternoon and I just finished hanging them up,” she said, nodding to a rack near where she stood.

  I headed over to where she was and started looking through the hangers. “This is cute,” I said and held a dark purple one up that had silver rivets in a floral design down the front. “I really like this one.”

  “It really is cute,” she said. “I think purple would look good on you.”

  I nodded. “Thanks. I’ve always liked dark colors. I think it makes my blond hair stand out.”

  “You know, I’ve been thinking about things,” she said thoughtfully. “You know Ryan Sparks has been Pamela’s boyfriend for a couple of years, don’t you?”

  “Yes, I do,” I said picking up a brighter purple top that had darker purple swirls down the front.

  “Well, a few months back, I remember hearing she and Ryan were fighting a lot. A friend said they were probably going to break up. Ryan was angry because Pamela’s father didn’t think he was good enough for her.”

  I was glad she was bringing up the subject. Sometimes I wondered if I was pushing things too hard when I asked around about a murder. “That could cause trouble. It’s hard to keep a relationship going long term, especially once you’re out of high school.”

  “That’s for sure,” she said with a chuckle. “I dated the same boy for three years in high school, but after we graduated, we just drifted apart. There wasn’t any drama or anything like that, we just didn’t have anything in common anymore."

  “I hate to say it, but that’s a part of growing up. Figuring out who you are and what it is you want to do with your life,” I said putting the top back on the rack. “Sometimes you just figure out you want different things.”

  “I feel the same way,” she said, nodding her head. “I feel like now is the time to figure out what it is that I want in life. After I win the Miss America pageant, of course. But poor Ryan was always in Pamela’s shadow. I guess he’s free now.”

  I looked at her and was struck by how pretty she was. I could see her easily winning the Miss America pageant. “I wonder why Ryan didn’t go on to college on a football scholarship?”

  She shrugged. “I really think he was great at the high school level, but I think the competition in college would have outclassed him. Right before the end of the school year, I went down to tour the University of Idaho, and it was kind of shocking seeing how big some of those football players were. I don’t know if any of them are on steroids, but they were twice the size of the boys on our high school football team.”

  “Boys sometimes have growth spurts in their late teens. A lot of them really put on a lot of height and weight in those years. But Ryan isn’t exactly scrawny.”

  She nodded. “Another thing is his mother is disabled and maybe he feels he needs to stick around here and take care of her,” she said, hanging up a black top. “Oh, I almost forgot! Pamela came in here about six months ago with her aunt. I overheard them talking and Pamela said Ryan got drunk one day and threatened her. I have to wonder if he didn’t just lose it one day and killed her.”

  “Threatened her how?” I asked taking a step closer and looking at the tops on the racks closest to her.

  “She said he blamed her for not being able to go to college. She said he did get accepted at the University of Idaho and Pamela told him he couldn’t move that far away. I don’t know how I forgot about that,” she said with a shrug. She turned away from me and I suddenly wasn’t sure she was telling me the truth.

  “I can see how that might make him resentful,” I said slowly. “But did he want to stay home and take care of his mother or did he stay for Pamela?” Chrissy suddenly seemed to be all over the place with her reasons why Ryan didn’t go to college.

  She shrugged without looking at me. “I don’t know. It’s just one of those things you hear, you know?”

  “In a small town, it’s hard to know sometimes what the truth is,” I said, keeping an eye on her. She seemed uncomfortable, and it made me wonder. In a small town, everyone talked, and sometimes it was a big job trying to sort out the truth from people’s imaginations.

  “Still, I think he may know more than he’s letting on about Pamela’s death.”

  “I’m sure the police are looking at every clue,” I said, casually looking through another rack of tops. “You know, like fingerprints on her car. It would be hard to keep fingerprints off of it unless the killer wore gloves.”


  Chrissy raised her head, looking at me without seeing me, deep in thought. Her face suddenly went white. “Anyone might have touched that car,” she said, focusing on me now. “You know, just casually. I bet a car has lots of fingerprints, just from anyone that might have passed by and touched it. Right?”

  I studied her. “Sure, I guess that could happen,” I said slowly. “But I’d hate to have mine show up on a car that someone had been murdered in. Wouldn’t you?”

  Her eyes went wide. “Yes, that could be bad. But, I’m sure there has to be more evidence than fingerprints.”

  I nodded. “That’s true. Like there would have to be a motive. Jealousy is a pretty powerful motive for murder. Still, fingerprints are a great place for the police to start their investigation.”

  She gave me a weak smile. “I hope they find the killer soon.”

  “Me too. And, what about Amber? You mentioned the other day that you thought Amber was jealous of Pamela.”

  She gave me a serious look. “Oh believe me, that girl was jealous. Pamela was everything she wasn’t. Like I said before, Amber not only wanted to be like Pamela, but she wanted everything she had, including Ryan. But there was no way she was ever going to get Ryan even if Pamela was out of the picture. Ryan just wasn’t into her.”

  “Was Ryan into you?” I asked, trying not to sound accusatory.

  She smirked. “Oh yes, Ryan was definitely into me. In fact, he asked me out several times in the past. But there’s no way I want Pamela’s leftovers. Star quarterback or not, I don’t want sloppy seconds.”

  It surprised me to hear her talking about Ryan that way. Ryan was a handsome young man. I didn’t know anything about him, but I would have thought any teenaged girl would be thrilled to date him.

  “I can see where it might make things complicated if you began dating your competition’s boyfriend.”